Bolsonaro threatens to act above constitution in response to the Electoral Court's investigation over attack on voting system

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, July 27, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Adriano Machado

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's far-right president, shouted against a Supreme Court probe into his conduct on Wednesday, threatening to reply outside the constitution's bounds, increasing the conflict between the far-right leader and the judiciary.

Bolsonaro made his remarks after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes approved an investigation into the president's baseless claims that Brazil's electronic voting system is prone to fraud.

“This investigation is outside the bounds of the constitution, so the antidote to it is outside the bounds of the constitution,” Bolsonaro declared on social media, without elaborating on the nature of the threat.

Bolsonaro, who is set to run for re-election in 2022, has often claimed that Brazil's electronic voting system is prone to fraud without supplying evidence.

Critics claim that, like former US President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro is planting doubts in the event that he loses in 2022. He has already stated that until the system is modified, he will not accept the results.

Bolsonaro wants printed receipts that can be counted if an election result is challenged, creating a paper trail that would replace the existing all-electronic voting system. A bill to that effect is currently being debated in Congress, with a committee vote scheduled for Thursday. According to analysts, it has a slim probability of becoming law.

The president has called on people to go to the streets, and thousands of his followers demonstrated in support of his proposal last weekend in many cities.

Publish : 2021-08-05 17:08:00

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